Box Score FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team (9-12, 5-7 SSC) was taken down Wednesday at home against the Lynn Fighting Knights (16-5, 9-3 SSC), 73-50.
Harrison Goodrick (So., Sydney, Australia) and
Chris Page (Sr., Plainfield, Ind.) each scored 13 points to lead all Sharks in scoring.
Justin Jeangerard (Sr., Weaverville, Calif.) had a team-best four boards while
Stian Berg (Sr., Baerum, Norway) had the NSU high in assists with three. Berg also poured in 11 points on 4-for-9 shooting.
"They're a terrific defensive team, probably the best on that end in our league," said head coach
Gary Tuell poignantly. "Their ball pressure is great, their ability to play in the passing lanes and take you out of your offense is terrific. They do a great job of taking away all of your options. We came out trying our best to execute, but against those guys it was obvious that if we could make a pass, we should have received a point. They were sitting on everything.
"We changed our offense to eliminate some of their overplays. It helped us, but we just didn't shoot it well enough. I thought we did all the right things in the first half and we were in the ball game, that's for sure. We weren't the last time we played them. I thought we'd warm up in the second half and shoot it a bit better. But we never found our shooting touch and they broke us down off the fast break, and Aaron Harrison started knocking down shots he doesn't normally make. They opened up a lead we couldn't overcome."
The Fighting Knights applied their full court pressure early on and forced 11 NSU first-half turnovers. After Berg scored the opening bucket, Lynn scored 11 straight points to take a lead that would last the entire half. The Fighting Knights would work their way to a 16-4 lead, but NSU stopped the bleeding and stayed within 12 points until the break.
Both teams went on a long scoring drought that led to the low halftime score. From the 9:17 mark to 4:10 on the clock, neither team scored a field goal. Page broke the slump with a layup that brought NSU within nine points. NSU entered the locker room trailing, 31-22, which put the Sharks on pace for an all-time low scoring night, a mark they would ultimately surpass with 28 points in the second half.
The Sharks' defense was strong in the first half, holding Lynn to 11-for-28 shooting. NSU shot 43.8 percent, but allowed the Fighting Knights to score nine second chance points, which made the entire difference at halftime.
Berg hit a 3-pointer to start the second half, cutting the deficit down to six points. It would be the closest NSU would get after Lynn scored another 11 unanswered points. The Fighting Knights were in total control from there on out, eventually leading by as much as 29 points at 69-40 with 4:18 left. Both teams made mass subs late, and NSU would score eight more points to bring the final deficit to 23.
Overall, NSU shot 39.1 percent (18-for-46) and 31.6 percent (6-for-19) from 3-point range. Lynn finished the game with a mark of 49.1 percent (28-for-57) after shooting 17-for-29 in the second half.
"The other problem we had, and we always have it, is rebounds," stated Tuell. "They got a ton of points off the offensive glass. We're so small, people can jump over us without fouling us. It's an issue for us all year. Our best team is small and it's what we have to live with. Those guys tonight kicked our rear ends on the boards, but I think some of that is us not keeping them out.
"I thought Stian did a good job for us, he handled the ball really well against pressure.
Maurice Fuller (Sr., Westfield, Ind.) played hard, Harrison played hard, but we really didn't have a lot of shining lights out there. We've got to go back to work tomorrow and get ready for Barry on Saturday."
